The present invention generally pertains to irradiation systems that utilize a conveyor for transporting articles past a radiation source and is particularly directed to conveyor systems that transport article carriers past a given location and to the article carriers used therewith.
Irradiation systems are used for irradiating articles, such as foodstuffs, food utensils, medical devices, consumer goods, cosmetics, and waste products and their containers, with high energy electromagnetic radiation, such as an electron beam, X-rays and microwaves, for the purpose of sterilizing such articles.
It is known to irradiate articles by utilizing a system that includes a radiation source; a plurality of article carriers; and a process conveyor for transporting the article carriers past the radiation source, with the radiation source being mounted perpendicular to the conveyor and disposed along an approximately horizontal axis for irradiating the articles as they are transported past the radiation source by the process conveyor. It is also known to reorient an article carrier suspended from a power-and-free conveyor by 180 degrees after the article carrier has been transported past the radiation source and to transport the reoriented article carrier past the radiation source again so that the articles carried by the article carrier can be irradiated from the opposite side to symmetrically complement the irradiation during the initial transportation past the radiation source. The article carrier is suspended from the power-and-free conveyor track at both its leading and trailing ends, and is reoriented by diverting the leading end to an unpowered branch track that loops off to one side and then rejoins the main track, and then causing the trafiing end to move along the powered main track so that the trafiing end takes the lead and pulls the diverted end from the branch track to the main track in a trailing position.